His innings was laced with five sixes and 11 fours.
Newly signed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star Ajinkya Rahane is turning up the heat this winter with his fiery batting display in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Rahane, who was bought by KKR for INR 1.5 crores at last month’s Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) auction in Jeddah, missed his century by only two runs after slamming a quickfire 98 off just 56 balls and propelling Mumbai to the Final of the SMAT. Rahane hit five sixes and 11 fours during his stay in the middle.
Rahane might be out of the reckoning for the national team but he is doing everything correct to become a talismanic figure for KKR in the upcoming IPL 2025 season.
Interestingly, while Rahane’s purchase in the auction surprised many, it is strongly speculated that the defending champions could see him as their next captain and could hand over the captaincy reins after letting go of Shreyas Iyer.
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Speaking about the match, Rahane’s heroics ensured that Mumbai sealed a comfortable 6-wicket win over Baroda as they qualified for their second SMAT final.
Ajinkya Rahane received excellent support from skipper Shreyas Iyer, who played a brisk knock of 46 off 30 balls, smashing three sixes and four boundaries. Their 88-run partnership for the second wicket laid a solid foundation for Mumbai’s commanding chase.
Earlier, Baroda was invited to bat first under cloudy skies. Krunal Pandya and Shashwat Rawat guided the team to 73 runs within the first nine overs, but Suryansh Shedge dismissed Pandya, sparking a dramatic batting collapse.
Baroda tumbled from 73/1 to 103/6, losing wickets in clusters. However, late aggressive cameos by Atit Sheth and Shivalik Sharma helped push the total to a respectable 158 for seven.
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